The Chronicles of Ember
by HedwigFan101
Summary: Ally has hidden her fiery alter-ego Ember for years. But times are changing, and no-one can go back. An unexpected encounter with the Avengers leads Ally to seek the truth, find her true identity, and answer the call for a hero. But is Ally a heroine? Or is she the villain the world hates?
1. The Legend Begins

"_Hey, what's going on?"_

Ally frowned. She had seen strange things. But yellow beams of energy shot from a gray and red figure in the sky? That was new. Especially when the beam was being shot at a screaming maniac shooting bullets everywhere. But when she was ordered to go bye-bye and get to a place where she could not see? That wasn't weird. That was boring, annoying, and just plain bothersome on every level.

Beside her, Claire frowned. "I dunno. Look, we've gotta get to safety," Claire told her.

Ally snorted. "You can if you want. I'm perfectly fine watching."

"Alright. Just don't go running to me if you get hurt."

"Scaredy cat," Ally muttered. Claire had no backbone. She was the most popular kid in school, and she had no sense of courage. If bullies showed up, she ran and hid. Meanwhile, Ally snapped back at anyone who bothered her. She could deal with them. Claire was scared of her own shadow. Ally didn't know something that scared her. But Claire was her best friend. Ally couldn't abandon her; she just chose to get a better view. Surely there was nothing wrong with that?

She turned her attention back to the fight, which was getting increasingly interesting. Which was good, because Ally didn't enjoy boredom. The fight was taking place on the field in front of the school. The sidewalk perpendicular to the street between the field and the school was cracked in several places, and grass was burned by beams every time Ally glanced away.

"Son of a bulldog," one of the people in the field said. Ally was up a tree and hadn't been seen yet. She cocked her head. It was the one with a helmet, who had fired energy blasts from his hands instead of his head.

A small golden object began making its way towards Ally. She tilted her head at it. Her eyes widened. Bullet! She ducked, and it whizzed over her. Who in carnation was shooting at her? "What in the world?"

Helmet guy spotted her. "Kid, why aren't you safe?"

Ally snorted. "Safe? Where is safe when there is a maniac going on a shooting spree? I'm getting a good view. Not going anywhere."The guy blinked at her, but soon had to get back to the fighting. Ally sighed and rolled her eyes. At least it wasn't boring. She supposed that being unwanted was better than being bored. Being unwanted didn't make her go crazy. Being bored did.

The fight lasted another good long while, and eventually the bad guy went away. For good. The guy who had seen her earlier approached. "You've got sense. Go with your friends."

Ally stared at him. "I only have one."

The man corrected himself. "Alright. Then go with your friend."

"Can't. Who knows where she is, it's past check-out time for her."

"Why were you watching anyway?" the other guy asked. He had removed his helmet and was looking at her. "We can only help when it's bad. It got bad here. Why weren't you safe?"

"What do you mean, you can only help when it gets bad?" She narrowed her eyes. "Doesn't the 'bad guy alert' basically mean 'do your job'?"

"The Accords," the helmet guy said. "They told us to come. Normally it doesn't get bad enough."

_They told us to come. Normally it doesn't get bad enough. The Accords. _The words spun in Ally's head. These Accords...if they told these two to come, then didn't that mean that they couldn't come otherwise? Probably. But if it normally doesn't get bad enough, then why did no-one help when the neighborhood nearby was threatened? What did all this mean? Suddenly it dawned on her. She laughed. "So, let me get this straight. There is a book of some sort somewhere that said that two or more people get to tell you how to live your life?"

"No," the red and silver metallic skin guy responded smoothly. "and you haven't told us your name. We should start with that. I am Vision."

"Mr. Stark," the helmet guy said stiffly.

Ally rolled her eyes. "First name?"

The helmet guy blinked. "Why?"

"Because the formality doesn't flow with me."

"Just tell her," Vision chided.

"Tony," the helmet guy grumbled.

"Better," she told them. "I am Ally. So, these 'Accords'," she spat, "they basically tell you when and where and who to fight?"

Vision nodded. "At the most basic, yes. It's for the collective good. We don't mind."

Ally laughed. "Hippo heads!"

They blinked. "Did you just insult the law?" Tony asked.

"No, I insulted you. Because it's true. Don't you two have friends?" They both gave an affirmative. Vision started to speak, but Ally went on. "Great. So, you and your friends are having a nice time together. Maybe beating up bad guys. It's fun, I don't fault you there. But anyway, your phone rings and someone you hardly know is telling you to go and do something else, or telling you you're not supposed to be doing good. What do you do?"

"Go and fight who must be fought," Vision said. "After all, it's our duty. We protect life."

"We do as we're told," Tony told her.

Ally laughed. "So naive. So you're saying that you don't mind a bit that thousands die and thousands more hate you because you abandoned them to do who knows what—maybe even beat up people who aren't the real problem? You're saying that you would rather do that than do what's right and truly fight for life? For the people?" She stared at them. "You would rather surrender your freedom?"

"We didn't surrender our freedom," Vision said calmly. "We are protecting people."

"At what cost? Huh? Because you're saying that you're a hopeless fool. Why surrender your freedom? Especially when it's better for everyone that you don't?" She continued more quietly. "Can't you tell the difference between destroying the world and saving it?"

They looked stunned. "I do not understand. We _do _know the difference," Vision told her. Ally had obviously struck a nerve.

"We avoid collateral damage this way," Tony said.

"No," Ally seethed. "You kill people. You ruin the lives of yourself and so many more. Collateral damage is something you just have to deal with. Try."

Vision sighed. "All Enhanced, or anyone acting as an Enhanced, have to follow them anyways."

Ally smirked and pointed at Vision. "Well, then. Suppose I may as well show you." They regarded her with curiosity a moment before her hand burst into flames. She smiled. "Enhanced, you say? I don't care. Why should I? I never surrender my freedom."

Two Weeks Later

The principal's voice came over the intercom one October morning two weeks after the battle. Ally rolled her eyes in annoyance. The intercom voice was so tinny and flat and annoying. Always such a similar monologue; the same thing every day. She hated it with a burning, fire-filled passion.

"Ally Smith, please report to the front office. We have visitors, so please don't spit on them this time."

Ally burst out laughing at the memory. Last time she had been called to the front office, no-one had told her that there were annoying people and that she shouldn't go. So she had spit on the three visitors from Walmart. Unfortunately, her firepower super-heated the spit ball so that the visitors were burned as well as humiliated and disgusted.

She regarded the two suspicious people in the office with intense curiosity as she entered. They appeared to be agents of some sort, and one held a thick, annoying-looking and probably politic-based, since they seemed to be agents, book in their hands. The rose as she entered. "Are you Miss Ally Smith?"

"So what if I am? Yes, and you are interrupting my very favorite part of the morning. You have two minutes to explain this intrusion on my morning."

They looked at each other. "Miss Ally-"

"Ally," she reprimanded. "My name is Ally."

"Ally," one said. "We are agents of the Sokovia Accords, a prestigious set of laws that protect the people, designed to keep any and all Enhanced and/or heroes/heroines in check. Enhanced individuals are required by law to sign the Accords within one month of the discovery of their Enhancement. Two weeks ago, your firepower was discovered. As this means you are an Enhanced, you are now required to sign the Accords."

And Enhanced individual," the other picked up, "is anyone who has been artificially modified in any way, including, but not limited to, genetic experimentation, specific serums, direct exposure to certain energies, and much more. There is no way or reason to know for certain how one obtained their power; but all Enhanced are dangerous. I am sure a girl like you can understand why such individuals must be regulated. As you have been discovered as an Enhanced yourself, please help us in our mission to help the people. All you need to do is sign." He handed her a book and pen. "Please look over the Accords and sign. You may have all the time you need to read the Accords, but we must have your signature within one month."

Ally laughed. "Yeah, right. Time's up." She turned to leave.

Ten minutes later, the agents tracked her down in her classroom and pounced. They gave her the booklet and said she had to read it. Ally shrugged and lit it on fire, making sure the fire didn't spread. "In case you have not noticed, I could not care less about these so-called 'Accords'. I'm no heroine."

They insisted it didn't matter, as since she was an Enhanced she was 'supposed' to sign the 'Accords'. Ally just didn't care. "Take one step closer and I'll burn you to ashes."

They left. Ally turned away, muttering to herself. So what? She had been able to summon fire for the longest time. As long as she could remember. Fire was her plaything. It didn't burn her, didn't hurt her, and did as it was told. Ally chuckled as she thought about the alias she had taken only a few months ago. Ember. That was what she called herself. Ember would not be pushed around.

Less than twenty-four hours later, she was tangled in the world of heroes and villains.

"So," the woman finished, "I understand what you're going through. It happened to me."

Ally looked at the Enhanced woman over her shoulder. The two were trapped in the room, which had no door. Vision had visited them awhile ago, but Ally was alone with the young woman most of the time.

The woman's name was Wanda Maximoff, but her code-name was Scarlet Witch. Her thing was mental manipulation and telekinesis. Wanda had lost her brother years ago, before the Sokovia Accords. His name had been Pietro. AKA Quicksilver. Ally could sympathize with her for that. She had lost her own sibling too. But Pietro had been murdered. James hadn't been. So Ally couldn't fully sympathize with Wanda. But it wasn't easy to be trapped in a room with someone you barely knew.

Wanda was an Avenger, one of the few reliably found at any one location. She had reddish hair and eyes that changed color when she used her powers; they turned red. She was often dressed in a darkly colored dress under a long red leather coat. She also wore a necklace around her neck, which Pietro had made for her soon after they were orphaned. Wanda was lovely, unlike Ally, with her black hair with fiery red tips that she kept so short it was off the collar. Ally's eyes were brown, and she often wore a sort of nonchalant and shelled expression, unlike Wanda, who had an open but ever-changing expression.

Wanda, too, had refused to sign the Accords, and had been jailed for it. Ally had a little more time to make up her mind between law criminal and moral criminal since she was younger. No contest whatsoever. She'd rather run from the law than regret her decisions her entire life. Ally wasn't stupid. She had moral boundaries, just like anyone sane.

"I hate these Accords," she muttered.

"I do too," Wanda told her. "Oh, and thank you."

Ally furrowed her brow. "For what?"

Wanda smiled. "For talking sense into Vision. He and Tony decided that the Accords may not be worth it after all. They both rebelled."

Ally slapped herself. "What?"

"Yeah. Apparently they hadn't thought about it as deeply as they thought they had, and they declared that while they would not be bound by the Accords, they were going to listen to the Accords people...but they said they wanted to listen to their _own _heart as well."

Ally smiled as an explosion rocked the building with a deafening _bang!_ Wanda grinned at her. "Want to go see what that is, Ember?"

Ally looked at her friend. "Are you kidding?"

Wanda smiled. "No, my friend."

Ember let out a wicked smile as flames licked across her skin and her fiery attire materialized from the flames. Her hands lit on fire. "Let's go, Scarlet Witch."

To be Continued in

_The Chronicles of Ember:_

_Dawn of Fire_


	2. Dawn of Fire

_Ember smiled at her friend._ Scarlet Witch led her through the building with the air of experience. Which was good, since Ember did not know the place one bit. She had been taken straight to the room where she was kept with Scarlet Witch, and didn't know the place, though her friend did.

The two walked through the rubble of the collapsed corner of the building. They could see at least five dead from the explosions, and there were no doubt many more hidden under the rubble. The building was completely collapsed here, and there was no sign of life but Ember and Scarlet Witch. It was a desolate and dreary place, and Ember shivered for the first time in years. Not in cold, but in dread. They walked on and dejectedly continued observing the rubble. Already Ember felt sad, though she didn't know why. What was so sad about this?

It felt wrong. That was it. Ember remembered the feeling of belonging when she was in the room with Wanda. Here, there was an air of sorrow, stemming from...something. This place was wrong. This sight shouldn't be seen. Something was wrong, but...what? Why did she feel so wrong, so out of place here? And what was so sad about it? She did not know. Several feet away, Wanda gasped.

"No!"

Ember rushed to her friend. Scarlet Witch was brushing rubble away from a spot where the explosions seemed to be centered on. Finally she got to the floor. She pulled some flooring out of the way with her powers and stared at the empty space under the floor.

Ember looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Wanda blinked. "This was where we stored our most powerful artifact. The other Avengers and I make sure it comes to no harm, because it can do no good in the world. Can't be used to help us, can't do any good, because it is pure evil. So we tried to destroy it. But it refused to be destroyed. Completely refused. But contained? That could be done, we found. So we locked it up here, hoping no-one could ever find it. No-one would have any reason to attack this particular part and no other part unless they sought the artifact."

Ember knitted her eyebrows. "What _is _it, though?"

Scarlet Witch looked at her. "The artifact? It's a chain-sort of. However, it has the power to—wait."

Ember frowned. "What's wrong?"

Wanda pointed. "Look. This niche was sealed tight, with no air to blow dust in. And yet, look at this dust layer. These cobwebs...they're pretty telling. The artifact was not stolen just today."

Ember looked at her. "Well, if the artifact was already stolen, why blow up the building today?"

Two hours later, they had left the compound in search of the other Avengers who had not signed. Wanda filled Ally in on the artifact.

"It's made of metals from all over the galaxy," Wanda told her. "It looks weird, but don't ever be tempted to touch it. Natasha tried that, and did it not work out for her! The links didn't let her touch them. What makes it so evil is that it sort of...does something strange. Apparently the chain isn't from Earth; some foreign power created it as a way to gain complete control over the universe. It's complicated, but basically they try to turn members of organizations against the good guys. I don't understand it all. You can ask the others when we find them."

"I don't get something," Ally said quietly.

"What?" Wanda asked, confused. What was there to not get?

"If this chain is so dangerous, why are you not telling me what it does? I don't know."

Wanda smiled. "Because I don't fully understand myself. I've never seen it in action. I had to hear about it from my colleagues, and they are not good at describing things so they make sense." She laughed. "But then, not everything makes sense. Nothing has to, I guess."

"So, which ones are we trying to find?" Ally asked. Wanda looked confused. Ally rolled her eyes. "Which Avengers?"

"Oh," Wanda said. "Hmm. Those three really wouldn't be good, but the rest should be. So we should find Captain, Natasha, Sam..." She paused. "That's it, unless Tony and Vision plan on being helpful. So five at the most."

"Which three wouldn't be good?"

"Oh," Wanda said, "Bucky's trying to stay out of trouble, Lang is missing, and Hawkeye is on leave."

"Okay. So how do we find the three we're looking for?"

Wanda cocked her head. "Sam and Captain are likely to be in Brooklyn somewhere, and Natasha is probably at her hideout. Probably."

"And if she's not?" Ally asked.

"Then we find her," Wanda said. "Captain or Sam might know where she is. And if we can't find her, she doesn't want to be found."

"Natasha's good at hiding?" Ally asked.

"She's the best there is at it," Wanda said.

That made sense. Wanda had told her a little about each of the Avengers; she had said that Natasha was a spy, arguably the best on the planet. So of course she was good at hiding. But the chain had been stolen; they had to recover it. So Wanda said that she would probably agree to help.

"Who first?" Ally asked.

Wanda looked at her. "You're ambitious. But I think we should look for Captain first. Sam and Natasha won't agree to help without him."

Ally chuckled. Wanda looked at her in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"Normally," she told her friend, "this is where I would be flaming. Flaming _everything._ But...not anymore. I guess I'm just calmer, being around people who understand me. I may be different, but I didn't ask for these powers."

She looked at Wanda. Wanda was silent. She _had _signed up. But still...

Ally took a deep breath and began. "One day, my brother got ill. There was no hope at all. There was no virus, but his temperature was so high...after two days of his illness, I just was engulfed in flames, just like that." She snapped her fingers. "He died minutes later. But the fire never left me. It runs through my veins, burns in my soul, and it always shows up sooner or later. I can't control it. So, I now count as an Enhanced. We have no idea why I'm this way. The fire just showed up."

Wanda sighed. "My brother, Pietro, and my parents and I were having dinner one night when we were ten," she said quietly. "Suddenly, our world turned upside-down. When the first shell hits, a hole in the floor opens. Our parents fall in, and they do not come out. We go under the nearest bed, and the second shell hits. But it just sits there, deadly but inactive. It doesn't go off. It just sit there, but three feet away. We were terrified, because we knew that there would be no escape if it went off. Only death. But, more importantly, on the side is painted but one word. A name. Stark."

"When me and Pietro signed up for the experimentation," she continued, "We were only two out of twenty-three. We were all treated horribly, but me and my brother, we survived. No-one else. We signed up so we could get revenge on Tony. Eventually, we learned that holding on to the past wasn't a good idea. So we began to look to the future. My brother died because we made that decision. So, I was left alone. My heart died that day with my brother. One day, I will meet him again. I just don't know if it will be soon."

Ally was stunned that Wanda had opened up to her. Ever since her Enhancement, she had tried to do the right thing. It didn't always work, but she tried.

They spent the rest of the day, as well as the one after that, waiting for a response to the call Wanda had sent out.

They waited...and waited.

Until the third day.

"Ally! Ally, wake up!"

Ally moaned. "It's barely dawn."

"Ally, it's time to look for the artifact!"

That did it. Ally sprang to her feet. She wasn't an early riser, and generally hated having to get up early. But the idea of finally getting to do something for a change instead of just sitting around was enough. Wanda was the one trying to get her to wake up, so there was a good chance that the call had been responded to.

They met a redhead woman in the place where the 'chain' had been hidden prior to being stolen. Wanda tried to introduce Ally to her, but that wasn't happening.

"I'm Ally Smith," she said, "AKA Ember." She lit her hand in fire, then let it spread to the rest of her body, then shut it off to explain what she could do.

"Natasha Romanoff," Natasha said. "Steve and Wilson are working on something."

"The Chain has been stolen," Wanda explained.

"By whom?" Natasha asked.

"We don't know," Ally said. "But the niche is dusty, and there were spiderwebs in it. It wasn't stolen three days ago. It had to have been stolen at least a month ago for that level of dust to accumulate," she told them.

"We should look at the security footage from that camera first," Natasha said, pointing to the only intact security camera. "It's trained on this spot 24/7."

So that was what they did. It was a sensible plan, but no-one was prepared for what they saw.

A twelve-year-old kid.

A freaking _kid._

The footage sent Ally reeling in shock. This was definitely when the chain had been stolen, and no-one could deny that. The kid was even stupid enough to look straight at the camera and _grin._

"They left this one on purpose," Ally breathed.

"Why, though?" Wanda asked.

"A message, probably one meant to lead us wrong." Natasha typed something. "There we go. So, Ally, who exactly are you? More importantly, what's your motive?"

"I already told you my name," Ally retorted. "But very well. My brother died of sickness years ago, and I was seemingly Enhanced the same day, only minutes before his death. As for my motive, I want to know why I have these powers. I want to stop people who mean to destroy my world. I just don't get a window."

"Looks like you might," Natasha said. "But just so you know, be wary. Looks can be deceiving. Story of my life."

She pulled up an identification program. "That's who you are."

The kid's name was Jason Moore, and apparently he was from Wyoming, and was supposed to be missing. According to the file, he had gone missing two years ago and had been proclaimed dead after the shootout in which he had disappeared. For some reason, the sight of the file filled Ally with rage and grief. This kid looked so much like James. So much.

Had she seen him before?

She thought she had.

A memory flashed in her mind. School, three years ago, five days before James fell ill. Jason Moore had been there. This guy was her age. She _had _seen him before. So why exactly had he gone missing?

And why did the sight fill her with such dread?

Two days later, she got her chance to find out.

She still was full of dread about the near future. Something terrible was going to happen. Her fire was flaming, telling her this, clear as day. She had to be ready. She had been asked to be part of the team looking for the Chain, as it could cause serious damage. She had to be ready. She had one chance, and she was _not_ going to blow her chance to use her powers for good.

The fire surged inside of her. Ally knew who she was. She was the queen of fire, the flame in the cold.

She was Ember.

And her chance had arrived.

To be Continued in:

_The Chronicles of Ember:_

_Blue Death_


End file.
